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You want fries with that? Diners challenged to 24lb burger

Sudeep De, Chef, showing the ingredients of a 11 kilo burger he made for Hamlets Hotel in Larkfield to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics.
Sudeep De, Chef, showing the ingredients of a 11 kilo burger he made for Hamlets Hotel in Larkfield to celebrate the London 2012 Olympics.

Chef Sudeep De with his 24lb burger to celebrate the Olympics

If you want to sink your teeth into a meaty challenge, then a Larkfield hotel has a treat for you.

Forget a quarter pounder with cheese - meet the gut-busting 24lb Hamlets Big Burger.

The latest addition to the restaurant’s menu is more than enough for two, but there is a catch - in a challenge reminiscent of TV’s Man Vs Food, the diners have to finish the meal within two hours of taking their first bite.

If the hopefuls successfully stomach the whole burger, accompanying salad, chips and two pints of milkshake - without being sick or leaving the table - they will win £500. If they fail, they will have to pay the £70 bill.

Karan Sobti, general manager of The Hamlets Hotel and Restaurant, off the London Road, said: "The burger was given a trial run and it’s now ready to be served. We thought having our own challenge would be a good way of celebrating the Olympics."

Chef Sudeep De with his general manager Karan Sobti with the 11k burger at Larkfield's Hamlets Hotel
Chef Sudeep De with his general manager Karan Sobti with the 11k burger at Larkfield's Hamlets Hotel

More than 20 times heavier than an average-sized burger, the gargantuan gut-filler, weighing 11kg in new money, is served between two pizza-sized buns containing 1lb of cheese and handfuls of gherkins, tomatoes, lettuce and onions. It is 50cm in circumference.

And creating it is not a matter of simply whipping forth a frying pan - the meat had to be gently fried, before being transferred to the oven for up to two hours.

It is not the first time Mr Sobti has thrown down the gastronomical gauntlet.

At a previous restaurant, he offered a reward to anyone who could gobble-up a 9lb burger with all the trimmings.

"A lot of people tried, but no one finished it," he said.

And with the beef-based bar set twice as high this time around, it’s likely the unusually big dish will beat diners again.

It is not known exactly how many calories are in the burger. A McDonalds Quarter Pounder with Cheese, weighing a paltry 4oz, has 510 calories.

A crude calculation would put the Hamlets Burger at between 30,000 to 40,000 calories.

It doesn’t make for healthy reading as latest figures show 26% of adults and 33% of children in England are overweight or obese.

But Mr Sobti, who has run the hotel for two years, refutes the idea his weighty wager is irresponsible.

He said: "It’s a bit of fun to help promote the Olympics and ourselves. It’s up to the individual whether they take the challenge or not.

"People can only eat so much and there’s nothing in the burger which will harm you."

Three people have already signed up for the challenge which starts on Friday, July 20 and runs until the Games finish on Sunday, August 12.

Do you think you've got the stomach for the 24lb burger? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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